Tag Archives: suitemates

The dog days of summer can often leave you longing for school to start. You may find yourself thinking about a time when there were things to do and people to do things with. Whenever I find myself in these moods, I like to anticipate the start of the next school year by looking at possible rooms themes for next semester. Weird, I know, but everyone has different ways of coping.

UNC Housing has a Pinterest with a variety of different boards you can look through if you are thinking about turning your room into your own cozy nook. Here are a few of my favorite themes from the Pinterest:

Movie Magic

I like to think of myself as a movie fanatic, so I actually may try this theme next semester. Exchange your tapestry for a screen, and you have yourself a home theater! Plus, life is so much better when you feel like you’re the protagonist of your own film.

Music

This theme is for those of you who have to live with background music at all times. Cover the wall with all of your favorite albums and records, and surely you’ll find other people with the same music taste.

Boho Chic

This theme doesn’t take much effort at all. In fact, effortlessness is a part of the look! This theme is pretty simple and thrives on fairy lights, earth tones, and tapestries. With this theme you can finally live out your dreams of being the young vagabond artist you’ve always wanted to be.

Adventure Is Out There!

The use of Washi Tape in this picture is pretty ingenious

I love traveling, so I decorated my room with this theme in mind last year. Whenever I felt stuck inside the “college bubble”, this theme reminded me that there was so much beyond Chapel Hill. I had a huge map posted against my wall, and every day I woke up feeling like I could conquer the world. If you’re thinking of investing in a map, my advice is to find one you can read from your bed. You’ll be surprised by how many countries you can memorize by the end of the year!

Remember not to stress over the “look” of your room come August. Your room is definitely a part of living on campus, but it’s more than the decorations that make the residence experience great.

Welcome to Carolina, the place where the skies are always Carolina blue and the sunshine is always shining! For a few minutes.

Let’s be real for a second- the weather down south can be a *bit* temperamental, which means that the outdoor barbecue you were planning could be ruined by a torrential downpour if you aren’t lucky. Nevertheless, the great thing about living on campus is that even when it’s dark, dreary, and wet outside, residence halls are always LIT on the inside! 😉 Know what I’m saying? Here are 10 ideas for you to try out the next time a tropical storm comes hurtling up the coast.

1. Go Outside!

I know y’all think I’m some sort of crazy for suggesting this, but I have seen plenty of people who actually choose to stay outside in the rain. As long as the clouds aren’t wearing their thunderware and lightning belts, it can be fun to just play in the rain, and literally let nature wash your problems away.

2. Food n’ Friends

When it’s raining cats and dogs out and you don’t feel like taking a shower on your way to Rams, have a potluck dinner with your friends. Have everyone chip in whatever food you guys have in the fridge, get together on your floor’s kitchen, and just have a good time cooking and chatting over some homemade food! It could be one of your favorite memories one day.

3. Netflix and Pizza

When it’s thundering outside, cozy on up inside. Grab your suite mates, pitch in for a pizza, and binge watch you some House of Cards. Or the Office. Or Sense 8. All Housing Intern approved. Don’t have Netflix? Did you know that by living on campus you get free access to HBOGo? Well you do now! HOUSE OF THRONES GUYS, go, go, GO!

4. Take a Nap!

Don’t feel like doing anything? This one is easy. Just curl up in bed and catch up on your ZZZZZs. The soft pitter patter of rain on your windows will lull you to sleep.

5. Yoga Time

Rain is zen, and you should be too. Get in touch with nature AND yourself by doing some downward dog. Stressed about an upcoming midterm or final? Pro tip: The bridge pose (https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/bridge-pose) is great for releasing anxiety!

6. Game Night

Residence Halls are equipped with an arsenal of enhancements! I’m talking video games, board games, and rec room games. For example, Craige Residence Hall not only has a pool table, ping pong table, and air hockey table, it it also has an XBOX 360. Use these to your advantage! Go have some fun!

7. Spa Night

Listen, we’re all stressed. We go to one of the best universities in the country! Stress causes wrinkles. Treat yo’ skin by doing some facials. Put those cucumbers on your eyes and get rid of bags! It can be so relaxing. Turn your night in into a spa night!

8. Arts n’ Craft

Sometimes, you just have to paint something. It can be super fun to break out the scissors and glue stuff with your roommates. Plus, your room could always use some more decorating. Peep some ideas on our Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/unchousing/)!

9. Karaoke Night

Go on YouTube, load up your favorite songs, and have a good time belting it out with your friends. Heck, invite people you don’t know! There is no better bonding than badly rapping to Chance the Rapper. Pro Tip: Check if your residence hall has a karaoke machine in storage!

10. Working Out

Okay, this probably isn’t as much fun as a choice as eating pizza, BUT if you have free time, why not make some gains? Do squats, work on the booty, and thank me later. 😉 It’s still better than studying!

I could go on and on with fun things to do. Just because the sky is crying, doesn’t mean you have to also! It’s always a good day to be living in Carolina, rain or shine!

Last but not least, we’re going to the most interesting first-year high-rise residence hall in Ehringhaus. While hidden from the road, this hall has a lot of character. It’s a 6 floor hall with style and one of the best views at Carolina. More than 600 residents call this place home, and I have stories of why it’s an exciting place to live. You want to keep reading.

With the next edition of our residence hall series, it’s time to visit the most populous of the first-year residence halls: Hinton James. There’s something for everyone here, and with ten stories, it truly is a diverse place.

Where will you be living for 2013-2014?

Tweet about it! Once you get your housing assignment, find your fellow Class of 2017 members and future floor-mates! It’s simple, just use the hashtags below, which correspond to your building and floor number. And, of course, while you’re on Twitter, we invite you to follow us @unchousing.

Confessions of a cleanliness-challenged college student

These are indispensable tools for any college student.

Growing up, I learned to live with chores. In a home with four kids, that’s just how it was. Tidiness never came easily, but my mother delegated tasks with a cheerful efficiency that scared away even the dirtiest of socks.

Going to college, I imagined that my housework would have the same satisfactory outcome. Honestly, how hard could it be? Skipping about like Giselle in Enchanted, I would fluff pillows and toss cans in the recycling bin and everything would turn out fine.

But instead of a fairytale, my freshman year produced many housework horrors – including these three classic catastrophes.

Decorating is worth the trouble

We put up lights around our room and put presents for each other under our little tree.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is decorating for Christmas. I love all the lights and putting presents under the tree. And don’t worry, the beautiful decorations don’t have to be just for your house. Last year, my roommate and I had a blast decorating our room for the holiday season. Pick up some decorations while you are home for Thanksgiving break and enjoy turning your room into a winter wonderland.

I would recommend lots of lights. You can put them around your windows, on your beds, and around your doors. They create a fun ambiance when you turn them on and turn the main light off. It’s fun to watch movies and drink hot chocolate while surrounded by warming glowing lights.

My first Tar Heel Halloween experience

My friends and I (left) dressed as our favorite beverages in Morrison residence hall before venturing to Franklin Street on Halloween.

Halloween on Franklin Street: I’ve heard about the legendary event for years, but never knew exactly what it consisted of. As first years, my friends and I were eager to participate in the Carolina tradition, and we now know what a successful Heeloween is made of.

Costumes. There was talk of Halloween costumes months in advance. It’s tricky to come up with a costume that’s original, easily identifiable and not too complicated or expensive to make. After months of debate and a rainy, cold trip to Target, a few of my friends and I decided to go as our favorite beverages. I dressed as a coffee cup, my roommate was a juice box, and two of our other friends went as a Mountain Dew and a YooHoo. We made our costumes using poster-board, Sharpies and string.

And why I’d do it again

As a senior at one of the best universities in the country, I can think of a million different reasons why I chose and stayed at UNC. But at the heart of all those reasons, it is the people – students, faculty and staff – who make UNC great.

Gloria (right) with three of her closest friends whom she met during her first year at UNC.

When I began applying for colleges during my senior year of high school, I started by looking at all of the practical factors that go into choosing a school. I wanted to know which university had the best journalism program. I calculated the expenses of each school, because I wanted to get the best value for the best education.

Location was a major factor as well. Being a Tar Heel born and bred, I wanted to go to a school in my beautiful home state. On paper, UNC fulfilled all of those things.

Beating the first-year fall break blues

Sometimes, your life at Carolina can feel a world away from your life back home.

Congratulations! You made it through your first fall break.

If you spent last week at home, you may have discovered that returning home can be one of the hardest parts of college. Especially at first, going back can be a disorienting experience that leaves you either yearning for campus life or running after your parents’ car as they drive away. Whatever you experienced last week, take heart! There are ways to beat the fall break blues.

Two different worlds

Even if your hometown is an hour down the road, life at Carolina is probably a world away from the life you revisited over break. Temporarily losing your new-found friends and freedoms might have made you wonder how you ever lived at home; visiting your old favorite places and people might have made you wonder how you’ll ever be able to live at Carolina. I’ve certainly wondered all those things in the past two years – but now, as a junior, I’ve found ways to achieve a balance between home and school.